"The usual Chinese poem is four lines," he explained. "The first line
contains the initial phrase; the second line, the continuation of that
phrase; the third line turns from this subject and begins a new one; and
the fourth line brings the first three lines together. A popular Japanese
song illustrates this:

Two daughters of a silk merchant live in Kyoto.
The elder is twenty, the younger, eighteen.
A soldier may kill with his sword,
But these girls slay men with their eyes."